It was previously established that John Abraham was to play the lead in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar, which was being produced by UTV Motion Pictures at that time. However, the real reason behind the exit of John and UTV, and the entry of Ranbir Kapoor and Ashtavinayak was always unknown.
A reliable source reveals, "Imtiaz was a struggling newcomer (just one film old, Socha Na Tha) and not a big director that he is today when he met John for Rockstar.
Anurag who was shooting No Smoking with John, suggested Imtiaz to meet the actor. He met him and narrated the script of Rockstar. John loved it and together they went to UTV to produce their film."
The source adds, "The production house agreed but they had a condition. They also signed John for three films. They thought it was risky to make a film with a new director. So they advised John to do another project before Imtiaz's movie. John agreed to shoot Goal first. And this meant another two years of wait for Imtiaz."
This apparently, really disappointed the young director. "Imtiaz was upset with John for not standing by him. If John really believed in Imtiaz's script and had put his foot down, UTV would have given in as well. So instead of waiting for John he decided to look for other actor," our source further informs.
Hit and flop
In the meantime, Imtiaz got Jab We Met and it went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year. On the other hand, Goal flopped. Both John and UTV didn't trust Imtiaz when he was a nobody and apparently, that is also one of the reasons why the director has not worked with either of them.
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